Welcome to Reality
by mscymone
Summary: Helga decides that her only way to escape the misery of being home is to begin her adult life at 17. When she gets slapped in the face with reality she has to learn how to trust a certain blonde boy in to help her fix the big mess she made. By then will it be too late though?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story**

 **They all belong to the owner: Craig Bartlett**

 **Author's first note: Hello everyone! This is my first Hey Arnold fan fiction I've written. I've read stories on this website for years and always had the idea of writing one in the back of my mind. I finally got the guts to do it! While reading if you have any comments or feedback please feel free to let me know what you think.**

Chapter 1: 

_"I don't care how tired you are, you need to have my dinner ready by the time I get home from work Miriam!"_ Helga couldn't take this too much longer. Bob and Miriam were at it again with the arguing, which she could hear loud and clear from her bedroom upstairs. It was making it very hard for her to study

She opened her school bag and pulled out her earphones. The huge crash in the kitchen made her hurry up and detangle them. _"Stop throwing stuff bob, I already have to replace what you broke last time!" "You do what the hell I tell you to do and you won't have to worry about that!_

She finally got them loose and plugged them into her ears and the bottom of the phone. At this point she didn't care what song played, just as long as it was loud enough to tune out her parents arguing

Hitting play on her phone and blasting the first song that popped up on her playlist, finally feeling at peace. She went back to reading her World Geography book. There was a huge test coming up that counted for half her grade and seeing how this was not her best subject, she needed all the studying time she could get.

 _"Shut your mouth bitch! If your lazy ass would have fixed my food the right way like I asked, we wouldn't even be having this conversation!"_ Bob was screaming so loud that it could be heard clearly over her music. _Criminy! I can't study for shit in this house!_

She unlocked her phone and went to the messages app, then clicked on Phoebe's message feed. She typed the message **"Can I stay over tonight?"** looked at it, then erased it and locked her phone.

 _I don't want to burden her with my problems tonight._ Yea she was her best friend but sometimes Helga felt like Phoebe was sick of hearing her complain about her parents, even if it was a relief to vent to her.

She stood up and closed her book. _Fuck this, I'm not about to fail for them._ She got her overnight bag out of the closet and began to fill it with school clothes for tomorrow, A work and gym outfit, extra pairs of underwear and a bra, socks, and a few pairs of shoes. _I really don't want to do this tonight but I can't afford to fail this test._

On nights where she couldn't take living at home, she would go and spend the night at Mighty Pete. She started doing this around September of last year. Her parents were so busy arguing that they wouldn't even notice that she was gone

Helga walked to the bathroom and grabbed all of her toiletries along with an extra roll of toilet paper. While stopping in the hallway to get a towel she made sure her music was turned up all the way

 _"You're hurting me bob!"_ Helga could hear her mom crying over Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal on full volume playing though her ears. _I hate when she cries like that, it makes it harder for me to not intervene._ The last time Helga interrupted her parents arguing, she got in the way of her dad hitting a wall and got socked in the face. Instead of apologizing all she got was a _"Stay out the way Olga!"_

She put the toiletries in the bag and closed it. _Oh I almost forgot!_ She went to the closet and grabbed a loofah from the top of the closet. They always came in handy for nights like this.

After stuffing it in her bag she stripped out of the basketball shorts she had on and replaced them with a pair of sweat pants. She threw on a jacket and zipped it up. There was no way she could sleep in that tree house without dressing warm. A blanket alone may have helped in the fall, however that by itself was no help during the end of January. She almost froze to death when she slept there New Year's Eve

 _I wonder if they are still arguing_. She took one earphone out and stood by the stairs _"I don't understand why I put up with your drunk ass anyways, I should have left you the moment you had that disappointment Olga"_ Years ago Bob's words would have hurt her, however she was actually use to the way he talked about her. He had revealed that he wish she was a boy, wish she had never been born, called her a waste of space to her face, the insults were endless; so endless that Helga actually started believing that they were true. Her self-esteem was at an all-time low now, however she didn't show it.

Making sure all of her school supplies were all in her bag, she grabbed that, her overnight bag, paused her music and placed her phone and the charger in her pocket, stuffed her feet in a pair of show boots, and walked out the door quietly closing it behind her.

 _"You should have aborted the bitch, maybe then we wouldn't be having so many problems!" "Leave Helga out of this, our problems have nothing to do with her" "Fuck her Miriam, fuck her and fuck you"_ Helga walked out the front door without being noticed. It amazed her sometimes how they could be so deep into an argument that they wouldn't even notice her. Then again that's not something hard to do when you don't care about your own daughter

She walked down the street to the Hillwood 24hr gym. It had recently been built around early December, just in time for everyone to join to satisfy the usual New Year's resolutions. Helga use to shower at home right before going to Mighty Pete, however after they build the gym it became her new shower spot. It also helped out with her not having to go back to the house in the mornings before school would start. The only thing she didn't like about it though was the location. In order to get to the gym, you have to walk right past Arnold's house.

She had been avoiding him since 10th grade when he and Lila finally decided to become a couple. She avoided him like the plague. The love of her life making kissy faces with the girl she despised was not something she could handle seeing all the time. When they finally broke up the beginning of their senior year, she was both happy and sad. Happy because her nightmare was over, but sad because she could see that Arnold was deeply affected by it. Lila broke up with him and didn't have much of a reason for it. All she really said was they weren't meant to be and one day he would see why. The poor boy was crushed

After that Helga didn't exactly avoid him much, however she felt like that was a mistake because they kind of stared hanging out again. The more they hung out, the closer they got. The closer they got, the harder she had to work to hide her feelings. It was so exhausting.

She stopped walking when she was in front of his house. She was praying that he was sleep so he wouldn't see her. The last thing she needed was for him to think she was stalking him

 _"Helga?"_

Too late


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story**

 **They all belong to the owner: Craig Bartlett**

 **Author's first note: Thank you so much for all of the feedback I received from my first chapter! Also thank you to every single one of you that took the time out of your day to read my first chapter. Every single thing from the reviews to the read count to the favorites made my day. I was really nervous about creating this fan fiction so every bit of support helps! I would also like to apologize for the huge gap between posting chapter 1 and 2. I was swamped with school work and my job. It hindered me from any extra writing time. Remember, if there is any helpful criticism that you would like me to know, please feel free to let me know.**

Chapter 2

"Helga?" She looked over and saw what looked like an angel approaching her. Arnold was walking down the sidewalk with a confused looking smirk on his face. She on the other hand looked like she saw a ghost.

 _Shit! Why is he still up?_ "Oh hey Arnold, what's up?" She was trying her hardest to hide the fact that she was nervous and ashamed. It was one thing to be out late at night, it was another to be out late at night looking like a maniac standing in front of his house.

"Hey Helga, what are you doing out so late? It's almost 11."

"I should be asking you the same thing Football head."

His smirk became more evident. Once they became close, Helga started calling him his childhood nickname again. "Well I just got back from the gym actually."

 _He works out?_ Helga finally noticed that he had a gym bag in his hand. He was wearing a black tank with a pair of grey basketball shorts and had a towel laying over his shoulder. "I didn't know you worked out."

"Yea whenever I have time to. I like to go during the day, however I had to help grandpa with something today so I decided to go after dinner." His half smile shrunk some. _I wonder what's going on,_ Helga thought to herself. _I'll have to ask him later._

Arnold looked at her overnight bag. "It looks like I'm not the only one that likes to work out at night." Helga relaxed some after remembering that she packed all of her stuff in a bag that looked coincidentally close to Arnold's. Her choice of sweats and a jacket helps make this seem more convincing as well.

"Oh uh yea I couldn't sleep so I decided to go get some cardio in." _Liar_

"Should have said something earlier, I would have went with you."

"Nah, that's alright Arnold, I use the gym as alone time" _There's no way I can let him come with me, I would actually have to work out and wouldn't get any study time._

"Well that's smart, I'm pretty sure it's hard for you to study at home." Arnold was the only one that she had trusted, besides Phoebe, to let know that she wasn't happy at home; they didn't know how bad it was though.

"If you want I can wait up to walk you home afterwards." Arnold said. _He's making this so much harder_

"Thanks but I'll be there late and we have school tomorrow."

"Well okay, goodnight Helga."

"Night Arnold."

They kept eye contact as he walked up the stairs and into the boarding house. Once he shut the door she let out a huge sigh of relief and continued to the gym. She popped her earphones back in and hit play on her phone. Smooth jazz started to play into her head. _I'm 17 and that boy still has such an effect on me, it's a blessing and a curse that were such good friends._

* * *

Helga put her bag in her usual locker and approached the shower. She turned the knob all the way to the left and let the water run for a few minutes. She liked to let it run before getting in to steam up the locker room; this way no one could see her naked. With her body wash and loofah in her hand, she climbed in; finally removing her towel and hanging it on the hook located next to the shower.

Helga stood under the hot water and closed her eyes _. I really don't think that I can keep this up until graduation._ She squirted some body wash into her loofah and began to wash her body. _I have a roof over my head provided by my parents and I'm choosing to live the life of the homeless._ Helga felt warm tears cloud up her eyes. _Hold it in Helga, crying is a sign of weakness, at least that's what Bob says_. As much as she despised her father, his words strangely always stuck with her. It's what held her together whenever she felt alone; at least the life surviving words of advice.

After rinsing her body and turning the water off, she stood for a few minutes to make sure the locker room was completely quiet and empty before getting out of the shower. Hearing her father call her ugly many times a day made her afraid of anyone else besides her seeing her naked body.

She finally grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her so she could exit the shower. Helga stood in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection. Her father's verbal abuse had taken a huge toll on the way she thought about her body. She was actually a very beautiful young woman. She pulled her hair out of its messy bun and watched it fall down her shoulders and back, giving her head a few minutes break from it being pulled back. The last time Helga let anyone else see her hair down was 7th grade. Around this time her puberty was kicking in, so was her father's cruelty towards her.

She walked to her locker and removed her towel to begin drying off. By now it should have been close to midnight which meant that the gym was just about empty. She quietly opened the locker, pulled her bag out, and gently placed it on the bench. She quickly threw on the biker shorts and tank she packed, following the sweats she had on before taking the shower. After putting on a pair of socks and stuffing her feet into her workout shoes, she gathered her body wash and dried it off with her towel before throwing it in the bag. She then put her hair back into a bun.

 _I'll buy another loofah_. Helga thought to herself as she left the locker room. She looked around and saw there was no one working out. The only other body there was the one sitting behind the front desk.

"See ya later Helga."

"Later Greg." They exchanged a few words as she darted out the door. They knew each other by name and face due to her visiting the gym numerous times. She pulled her bag over her shoulder and began jogging down the street.

* * *

Helga opened the trunk she had in the corner of the tree house and pulled out her blankets to make her usual pallet. There was a small blanket, a thick comforter, and a pillow. Helga liked to switch back and forth between choosing the order of the blankets. It was either be comfortable or warm. Making sure she was in the far corner away from the door, she threw the pillow on the pallet and sat down to take her shoes off and put on an extra pair of socks.

Looking at her phone, she saw that the time on her phone said 12:56am. _If I study till 2, that will give me four and a half hours of sleep._ She also noticed that she had a text message. **Did you make it home Helga?** It was from Arnold. Helga rolled her eyes and texted him back. **Duh Football head, now go to sleep**. She put her phone on airplane mode and set two alarms; one for 2 and one for 6:30. She sighed to herself. _This is gonna be a long night_. Helga turned on her flashlight app and opened her World Geography book to chapter 7.


End file.
